South Carolina DOT issues update on storm recovery

By Land Line staff | Friday, October 16, 2015

More than half of the 541 roads and bridges in South Carolina that were closed at the height of a record-shattering rainfall earlier this month have since been reopened, according to the state’s transportation agency.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation issued an update on Thursday, Oct. 15, noting that all interstates and all but 29 primary routes have been reopened after torrential rains brought devastating floods through most of the state earlier this month. The agency reported that more than 2,000 highway workers are on the job and more than 3.4 million visitors have accessed the department’s Road Conditions webpage.

Eleven of the primary route closures are located in Richland County, where the capitol city of Columbia is located. No other county has more than three primary route closures, according to the state DOT. According to SCDOT, 163 state-maintained roads and 64 state-maintained bridges remained closed as of Friday morning. An updated list of road closures can be found on the agency’s website.

While state officials are surveying the damage of what has been described as a “1,000-year flood event” that saw in excess of two feet of rain dumped on parts of the state, the DOT says an estimate of the financial toll of the damage may not be available before Thanksgiving. At least 19 people have died as a result the storms and flooding, including one SCDOT employee whose pickup truck was swept away by surging floodwaters.

SCDOT reports all transit services have been restored statewide. A debris removal operation launched on Monday has already collected more than 7,086 cubic yards of storm debris.